Parallels Between 1929 and Today’s Financial Fragility “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” – Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933 In the final months of 1929, America looked unstoppable. Cities glowed with electric light. Streets swarmed with automobiles. Radios carried jazz, ball scores, and a steady stream of…
“It’s not what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” — Mark Twain When I was a little girl, I had big questions. Why do we have to sleep? Why do we die? Why do we need money to…
“Paper money eventually returns to its intrinsic value: zero.” — Voltaire Last week, I read Scott Bessent’s paper, “The Fed’s ‘Gain of Function’ Monetary Policy,” which presents a striking critique of the Federal Reserve’s unconventional monetary strategies. Bessent argues that over the past decades—particularly following the 2008 financial crisis—the Fed has engaged…
“There is no theory of the spark. Only of the combustible material.” — Charles Kindleberger In March 2023, Silicon Valley Bank insisted it was safe. By nightfall, depositors had withdrawn $42 billion—the fastest bank run in U.S. history. Another $100 billion was queued for the morning. The speed was new….
“It is well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system, for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning.” —Henry Ford A New Monetary Era Begins: Born Into Fiat On this day, I was born 54 years ago—just…
“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” — Leonardo da Vinci Some call this the Age of AI. Others, the Age of Technology. I call it the Age of Complexity—an era in which the scaffolding of life has grown so dense that even the smallest change sends tremors through the whole structure….
“The most powerful forces in the world are invisible—debt, energy, and belief.” — Anonymous As I mentioned a few weeks ago, the next time headlines light up with Trump versus Elon, ask yourself: what’s really going on behind the drama? It happened again just last week. Trump accused Musk of…
“While the crowd cheers the circus, the house of cards collapses unnoticed.” — Adapted from Juvenal In a country obsessed with celebrity stories and political drama, a far more serious crisis is taking hold. America’s housing market is falling apart, and the debt-heavy economy is starting to wobble. Last weekend,…
“The real problem of humanity is the following: We have Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology.” — E.O. Wilson This past year has been unlike any other. I haven’t left Southwest Michigan—haven’t seen any other part of the world. Instead, I ventured into a more elusive frontier: reality. Writing…
“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out for himself, without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos.” — H.L. Mencken America Is Cracking—Can You Feel It? Some see the tremors as natural; others suspect a calculated scheme. I see both:…
“Outstanding, sophisticated, and mesmerizing…a spiritual intrigue similar to Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code.” —ForeWord Reviews